Investigations
AXLE ASSEMBLY FATIGUE
NHTSA Recall Query RQ98025 - closed, opened 1998-12-01.
NHTSA investigation RQ98025 is a Recall Query opened on 1998-12-01 and currently closed. The subject is tracked inside the Office of Defects Investigation queue. Latest activity on this investigation was logged on 1999-01-27 - NHTSA updates that field whenever an Information Request goes out, a supplement is filed, or a status change is recorded in the public docket.
A Recall Query like RQ98025 evaluates whether a previously issued recall is actually fixing the problem. NHTSA opens an RQ when owners continue to report the original defect after the recall remedy is installed, or when completion rates fall short of the agency's expectations for that risk tier.
Investigators summarized the matter as follows: "THE SUBJECT TRAILERS WERE BUILT AND CERTIFIED BY DOONAN AND CENCORP. BOTH MANUFACTURERS BUILT THE TRAILERS TO SPECIFICATIONS SUPPLIED TO THEM BY STRAIGHTLINE INC. STRAIGHTLINE THEN OUTFITTED THE TRAILERS WITH EQUIPMENT N..." Investigations are the early-warning layer of the federal auto-safety system, sitting upstream of formal recalls and defect orders. Whether this one closes without action or escalates into an Engineering Analysis, the full history stays in the ODI archive so researchers, litigators, and buyers can pull the paper trail at any time.
Investigation Summary
THE SUBJECT TRAILERS WERE BUILT AND CERTIFIED BY DOONAN AND CENCORP. BOTH MANUFACTURERS BUILT THE TRAILERS TO SPECIFICATIONS SUPPLIED TO THEM BY STRAIGHTLINE INC. STRAIGHTLINE THEN OUTFITTED THE TRAILERS WITH EQUIPMENT NECESSARY TO ENABLE THEM TO SELL THE TRAILERS AS MOBILE DRILLING RIGS. DOONAN AND CENCORP BELIEVES THAT STRAIGHTLINE MAY HAVE EXCEEDED THE GROSS AXLE WEIGHT RATEING (GAWR) WHEN ATTACHING CERTAIN COMPONENTS ON THE TRAILER. THERE WERE TWO MAIN REASONS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOW RECALL COMPETION RATE. FIRST, ALL THE PARTIES INVOLVED COULD NOT AGREE ON THE APPROPRIATE REMEDY.. AND SECONDLY, ALL PARTIES COULD NOT REACH AN AGREEMENT AS TO WHO WAS FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR CONDUCTING THE RECALL. SINCE THE TIME DOONAN AND CENCORP FILED THEIR SAFETY DEFECT REPORTS WITH THE AGENCY, AN AMICABLE AGREEMENT WAS REACHED BETWEEN ALL PARTIES. THIS RESULTED IN STRAIGHTLINE FILING A SAFETY RECALL TO REMEDY ALL AFFECTED TRAILERS. THE PROPOSED REMEDY IS THE RECOMMENDATION OF AN INDEPENDENT ENGINEER AND ENGINEERS FROM THE AXLE BUILDERS. STRAIGHTLINE IS ASSUMING FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONDUCTING THE RECALL AND OWNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED IN EARLY FEBRUARY 1999 TO BRING THEIR TRAILER IN FOR THE NECESARY INSPECTION AND REPLACEMENT OF CERTAIN PARTS. NO FURTHER ACTION IS NECESSARY AT THIS TIME. THIS INVESTIGATIONIS CLOSED.
About This Investigation Type
A Recall Query (RQ) evaluates the effectiveness of a previously issued recall. NHTSA opens an RQ when consumer complaints suggest that a recall remedy may not be adequately addressing the safety issue, or when the recall completion rate appears insufficient.
Data from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Cross-references: NHTSA recall campaign API and NHTSA FARS where fatality records overlap. PlainCars does not rate or recommend vehicles. about how PlainCars sources NHTSA data.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.